The Hindu Business Line : New knee replacement procedure offers mobility

Hyderabad, March 25 How many of us know that the cartilage in our body plays an important role allowing us to walk, run, sit, dance, bend and move, protecting the bones that matter from the worn-out?

An immediate answer could perhaps be, ‘not many’. But this is a thing one should know, keeping in mind the sheer magnitude of the problem in the country. Every fifth Indian is suffering from knee or joint pains called arthritis.

“Eighty per cent of people who are above 60 years are suffering from this problem in India. At least 2-3 per cent of them need knee replacement,” Dr K. Sudhir Kumar Reddy, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at CARE Hospitals, told Business Line.

Present around bones, in nose and ears, the transparent cartilage tissue lets the bones at joints to slide on one another that keep us mobile.

But, as it doesn’t have any blood cells, the tissue (or the coating on the bones) gets worn out, leaving the bones exposed to friction. It doesn’t get regenerated and leads to erosion. As it wears out further, it results in pain, sometimes unbearable as it worsens, in the joints.

While the traditional knee replacement procedure helps the patient to get rid of pain, the question of normal mobility still lingers, with doctors advising a lot of restrictions.

Dr Sudhir Reddy has performed a new procedure, perhaps, for the first time in Andhra Pradesh, on the 65-year-old Padmanabha Reddy using Scorpio Knee System.

The procedure involves use of cobalt chrome and molybdenum that act as cartilage. Thanks to its strength, the procedure ensures a life-time (15-20 years) protection.

“Unlike in the traditional procedure, it doesn’t result in any damage to muscles. Moreover, it ensures bone conservation,” he said.

The cost of the procedure is put at around Rs 1.60 lakh. “The success rate is as high as 99 per cent. No other medical intervention guarantees that kind of success,” he told newspersons.

Mr Padmanabha Reddy, who underwent this procedure, said he was relieved of the pain.

More Stories on : Health | Andhra Pradesh

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